Toy imitating breathing and heartbeat



Dec. 21, 1965 REUGE 3,224,139

TOY IMITATING BREATHING AND HEARTBEAT Filed Feb. 13, 1963 United States Patent M TOY IMITATING BREATHING AND HEARTBEAT Guido Reuge, 21 Rue des Rasses, Sainte-Croix, Switzerland Filed Feb. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 258,182

Claims priority, application Switzerland, Feb. 15, 1962,

1,840/ 62 Claims. (Cl. 46118) The present invention relates to a toy having the shape of a living being, the body of which is provided with an external covering of flexible material and houses a motor mechanism, a connection member being attached to said covering and being subject to a back-and-forth motion caused by said mechanism so as to move the covering in an alternating movement visible from the exterior.

The toy according to the invention is characterized in that the connection member is composed of a flexible cord attached to a movable arm moved by the teeth of a wheel successively engaging with this arm, in that said arm carries a protrusion designed to strike the casing of the mechanism so as to obtain simultaneously the sound of the heartbeat and the movement of the covering, and in that an ele-stic element is arranged between said casing and the inner side of the covering to bring both the covering and the cord back to their original positions.

The attached drawing shows, by way of example, two embodiments of the toy to which the present invention relates.

FIGURE 1 is a cross-section through the body of a doll.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 1, but of a variant.

FIGURE 3 is a view in perspective of a detail of a second embodiment.

The toy shown in FIGURE 1 is a doll whose body has been sliced crosswise at about the level of the heart. This body is provided with an external covering 1 of flexible material, which covering is filled with scraps of foam rubber or any other filler. A mechanical motor enclosed in a casing 2 is housed inside the body in the region of the heart. A connection member 3 composed of a flexible cord is connected firstly to covering 1 by means of a knot held against a washer 4 and secondly to a flexible arm or blade 5. Cord 3 could also be attached to covering 1 by other means, in particular by a rivet which instead of being external could be on the inside of the covering. The spring-type mechanism, not shown, is wound up by means of a key 6 and comprises a toothed wheel 7 controlling blade 5, the end of which successively engages with the teeth of wheel 7 when the latter turns. Flexible blade 5 is of metal or plastic and carries a peg 8 designed to strike casing 2 of the mechanism, as will be described hereinafter. This blade 5 is secured to a base 10 by means of a screw 9, the base being integral with base-plate 11 of the mechanism. A helical spring 12 surrounds cord 3 and presses both against the inside wall of covering 1 and against casing 2.

The described embodiment operates as follows:

When the spring of the mechanism causes toothed wheel 7 to turn in the direction indicated by the arrow, the tooth engaged with the end of flexible blade 5 lowers this blade. Cord 3 is then drawn downwards pulling casing 1 along with it. In continuing to turn, the engaged tooth abruptly releases blade 5 and peg 8 strikes casing 2, spring 12 bringing covering 1 and cord 3 back to their original positions. Wheel 7 must turn sufficiently slowly for peg 8 to strike casing 2, thereby producing .a sound which imitates the beating of a heart. Covering 1 simultaneously makes an alternate motion visible from the exterior and which imitates breathing movements.

Drawback spring 12 may be omitted and replaced by 3,224,139 Patented Dec. 21, 1965 the elestic action of a filler material composed of scraps of foam rubber or other elastic material.

In the variant of FIGURE 2, the reference numerals indicate the same members as in FIGURE 1. The motor mechanism comprises a toothed wheel 7' similar to wheel 7 of FIGURE 1, but the teeth are in the opposite direction. A bell-crank lever 13 pivoting about axis 14 on a support integral with casing 2 has one end 15 engaged with the teeth of wheel 7', cord 3 being held against the other end 16. Said lever 13 carries a protrusion 17 designed to strike casing 2. Operation is identical with that of the embodiment described hereinabove.

The mechanism shown in FIGURE 3 differs from the preceding in that it comprises two bell-crank levers 18 and 19 actuated by the teeth of a sufliciently large wheel 20. These levers pivot about an axis 21 mounted on the arm of a bracket 22 secured, for instance, to the baseplate of the mechanism. Lever 18 controls cord 3, and lever 19 serves only to strike a fixed portion of the mechanism to imitate the sound of the heart as described in the preceding examples. Two successively striking levers could also be envisaged so as to obtain a double-beat more closely resembling the heart. Lever 18 moves back and thus strikes the casing of the mechanism slightly later than lever 19, which produces a double heartbeat. The lever 19, when actuated by one of the teeth upon the wheel 20, has means thereon to strike the casing whereby double beats analogous to those of the heart are obtained by the striking of the casing by the two levers.

In that flexible cord 3 is used, the body of the doll may be pressed without this affecting or harming the mechanism since this cord is freely slida-ble in a hole provided in blade 5 or levers 16, 18.

What I claim is:

1. A device for simulating a heartbeat in a doll or the like comprising a body, a flexible external housing on said body, a casing located within said body, a motor enclosed within said casing, a shaft driven by said motor, a toothed wheel mounted on said shaft, a lever mounted within said casing vibrated by the teeth upon said toothed wheel, a flexible cord having one end attached to said housing and the other end to said lever, means actuated by said lever to strike said casing when said lever is actuated by one of the teeth upon said toothed wheel whereby the sound of a heartbeat is obtained simultaneously with the movement of said housing actuated by said flexible cord and a spring member disposed within said body between said housing and said casing to return said cord and said housing to original position.

2. A device for simulating a heartbeat in a doll or the like comprising a body, a flexible external housing on said body, a casing located within said body, a motor enclosed within said casing, a shaft driven by said motor, a toothed wheel mounted on said shaft, a lever mounted within said casing vibrated by the teeth upon said toothed wheel, a flexible cord having one end attached to said housing and the other end to said lever, a projection upon said lever to strike said casing when said lever is actuated by one of the teeth upon said toothed wheel whereby the sound of a heartbeat is obtained simultaneously with the movement of said housing actuated by said flexible cord and a spring member disposed within said body between said housing and said casing to return said cord and said housing to original position.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said spring member is a draw-back helical spring.

4. A device for simulating a heartbeat in a doll or the like comprising a body, an external covering of flexible material on said body, a casing located within said body, a motor enclosed within said casing, a shaft driven by said motor, a toothed wheel mounted on said shaft, a lever mounted within said casing and striking said toothed wheel, a flexible cord having one end attached to said flexible covering and the other end to said lever, protrusion means carried by said lever to strike said casing so as to obtain simultaneously the sound of a heartbeat and the movement of said flexible covering actuated by 5 said flexible cord, and elastic means arranged between said casing and the inner side of the covering to return said cord and said covering to the original position.

5. A device for simulating the heartbeat in a doll or the like comprising a body, a flexible external housing on said body, a casing located within said body, a motor enclosed within said casing, a shaft driven by said motor, a toothed wheel mounted on said shaft, a first lever mounted within said casing vibrated by the teeth upon said toothed wheel, a flexible cord having one end attached to said housing, and the other end to said lever for moving said housing, a spring member disposed within said body between said housing and said casing to return said cord and said housing to original position, said first lever striking said casing when said first lever is actuated by one of the teeth upon said toothed wheel whereby the sound of a heartbeat is obtained, a second lever mounted within said casing vibrated 'by the teeth upon said toothed wheel, said second lever when actuated by one of the teeth upon said toothed Wheel having means to strike said casing whereby double beats analogous to those of the heart are obtained by the striking of the casing by the two levers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,859,731 11/1958 Sutton 46- 192 3,014,312 12/1961 Convertine 46118 X FOREIGN PATENTS 829,116 1/ 1952 Germany.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR SIMULATING A HEARTBEAT IN A DOLL OR THE LIKE COMPRISING A BODY, A FLEXIBLE EXTERNAL HOUSING ON SAID BODY, A CASING LOCATED WITHIN SAID BODY, A MOTOR ENCLOSED WITHIN SAID CASING, A SHAFT DRIVEN BY SAID MOTOR, A TOOTHED WHEEL MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT, A LEVER MOUNTED WITHIN SAID CASING VIBRATED BY THE TEETH UPON SAID TOOTHED WHEEL, A FLEXIBLE CORD HAVING ONE END ATTACHED TO SAID HOUSING AND THE OTHER END TO SAID LEVER, MEANS ACTUATED BY SAID LEVER TO STRIKE SAID CASING WHEN SAID LEVER IS ACTUATED BY ONE OF THE TEETH UPON SAID TOOTHED WHEEL WHEREBY THE SOUND OF A HEARTBEAT IS OBTAINED SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE MOVEMENT OF SAID HOUSING ACTUATED BY SAID FLEXIBLE CORD AND A SPRING MEMBER DISPOSED WITHIN SAID BODY BETWEEN SAID HOUSING AND SAID CASING TO RETURN SAID CORD AND SAID HOUSING TO ORIGINAL POSITION. 